"Advaita" performs at 'India by the Nile' festival

Cairo: The Indian eclectic fusion band "Advaita" is participating in the 'India by the Nile' cultural festival here.

The band, which performed on Friday at the Canal city of Port Said, is set to visit Ismailia tomorrow to perform in the Cultural Palace there.

"After a conversation with our friends in the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, they said that this year the festival must have a special focus on the Suez Canal cities as the Canal is important for Egypt. And so, we have music and dance troupes going to Port Said and Ismailia to perform in the Cultural Palaces of those two cities," said India's Ambassador to Egypt Navdeep Suri.

TheNew Delhi-based troupe has given a special performance at the Light and Sound show arena of the Great Pyramids during?the opening of the festival last Tuesday. Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan inaugurated the event.

The band will also perform tonight (Saturday) at the Cairo Opera House. Last year, the festival was billed as the biggest foreign festival in Egypt since the 25 January Revolution that toppled former president Husni Mubarak.

Formed in 2004, Advaita has established itself as one of the most innovative and original acts in the Indian music scene. 'India by the Nile' is organized by the Embassy of India, Cairo in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Cairo Opera House and managed by Teamworks Arts.

The festival includes a variety of events from a grand inauguration by Bachchan to folk music, an exhibition and discussion on handicrafts, Indian food, and a symposium of writers.